A Chance Meeting
by sourmilknightmares
Summary: Boy meets girl thief. Boy wants to turn girl in for bounty. For some ungodly reason he doesn't. Where does the insanity end? Do they end up killing each other in the end? Your guess is as good as mine... Raven is actually portrayed as in character!
1. They Meet

Walking alongside the old road the girl stopped, laughing wildly to herself. That was too easy! The Military had only become weaker and weaker since the war had ended, and it was more then working in her favor. They hadn't even checked her for weapons! Not once through her entire trial did they! The job of escaping was certainly easy. It was nothing more then a simple task of bringing her pocket knife out of her back pocket, cutting some cords, and hopping onto her organoid as she flew by. Piece of cake! Life would be perfect if everyone was as ignorant of her ways.  
  
As she walked along the side of the road she noticed someone ahead and forced herself to silence, lowering her head as though to appear as just a beggar. Now was her time to strike again. The boy took no notice of this peasant as she moved along the path and indirectly towards him at a rather slow pace. At just the perfect moment she knowingly, walking into the man, bumping his side rather harshly, and forcing her hand into his side pocket.  
  
"Forgive me, kind sir! I did not see you!"  
  
Paying no heed to her the dark haired lad walked silently away. As soon as his first step was taken the girl pulled her hand out of his pocket, pulling out a stack of money.  
  
"Haha! Bingo!" Quickly she placed the money into her own pocket and began to walk away humming a tune, but this easiness would not last. No longer then a few steps had she taken then a great pressure was felt on her arm, pulling her upwards. Forced to stand tall and stretched out, lest she be lifted into the air. She emitted a small scream of fear, at the same time the horrific beast that had taken her applied more pressure to her arm, inflicting much pain.  
  
Again she screamed as owner of the dark hued organoid spoke. "Shadow! What is all this about?"  
  
The beast only growled and tightened his jaws further, threatening to break the girl's arm.  
  
"Shadow!"  
  
At that moment the thief gasped in horror, for it was now she took notice of who this stranger she had stolen from was.  
  
"Raven!" she barely whispered her voice quivered with fear as she realized the severity of the situation. Quickly she thrust her left hand into her pocket, throwing the money hard into the dirt. Once the money was safely on the ground the organoid shook her vigorously before throwing her body of to the side of the road.  
  
"Oh, so this is what it is about," he smirked as he bent down to pick up the money. "Good work, Shadow."  
  
Before Raven could even stand their was a flash of gold, knocking him to the earth, and a horrible sound of metal clashing against metal, organoid against organoid.  
  
Quickly the girl stood, holding her arm. "Yenti! Off!" She commanded.  
  
At the sound of her voice the mysterious new organoid released its hold on the other and come tromping over to its beloved master of whom it had merely been trying to protect.  
  
Standing in front of the boy she offered a hand to help him up, which he refused.  
  
"Um..."she began. "I'm really sorry about all this..." Her voiced trailed off as he glared at her with piercing pale eyes. He thought he had seen her before, but where?  
  
"Hey, wait!" he began. "You are that girl who escaped the execution earlier!" A thought crossed his mind as he swiftly grabbed her injured arm. "C'mon kid. I believe there is a bounty on your head I could be using about now."  
  
Hollering in pain the girl jerked her arm back in retaliation. "And I'll be turning you in just as fast!"  
  
Raven stood there silently. She had a point. They both had a bounty on their heads. His far greater then her own.  
  
"Well I obviously can't leave you here to alert people of my presense."  
  
"Raven, I revere you more then any other, more then the child Emperor Rudolph himself. I would tell no one of your presense!"  
  
"Lies!" he harshly replied.  
  
They both remained in silence for some time, contemplating over what to do. After what seemed like an eternity to the thief the silenced was shattered.  
  
"Halt!" A voice shouted in the distance.  
  
His thought shattered, Raven looked up to the noise, only in time to see enemy fire shot at them. Growling he grabbed the girl's arm. "Come on kid!"  
  
Running off into some woods he pulled her behind him, the two organoids following like two dogs. Once they reached a clearing they stopped. There in front of her was the largest Zoid the girl had ever seen. It was Raven's Geneobraker.  
  
Jumping into the zoid he turned to where the awed girl stood stock still. Disgusted at how she seemed to be frozen in time he shouted loudly at her "Get in, kid!" 


	2. Execution?

A/N: Anyone you recognize I saddly don't own. I own "the thief" and her organoid. Name will be revieled to you shortly, and if you ever happen to find any Raven action figures on Ebay let me know ASAP!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Would you like a blind fold?" The guard spoke to the girl in front of him.  
  
A simple shake of the head would be the only reply he was to get.  
  
"Very well. Fire when ready"  
  
Looking over the crowd the criminal stood. Most would see her as an angel, with the looks of a perfect child and the brain of a mastermind thief. A soft smirk crossed her face. She knew every person that was standing around the platform she was held upon. They would all be glad to see her gone. No longer would they have to worry over their valuables when they slept...or would they?  
  
Holding his rifle the executioner stood ready.  
  
"Any last words?" he asked.  
  
"Everyone present will soon regret this," she replied in a calm yet threatening tone.  
  
Some laughed at her reply, others worried over what she meant. The guard just shrugged lightly and peered through the scope he looked for the blonde girl.  
  
"What in the...?" he found himself asking. Pulling his head away from the gun, he soon realized the girl was no longer there.  
  
The astonished crowds ran frantically in the direction they had last seen the child go. They looked towards the heavens, they looked off towards the far distant mountains. The escapee was no where to be seen.  
  
Only one stood that was not shocked or amazed. The ebony haired boy smirked as everyone turned what was to be a celebration to a fearful and anxious riot.  
  
"Stupid military. They apparently don't know of the magics one can work with a simple pocket knife and an organoid," he spoke to himself as he turned to leave the now panicked citizens. "Come Shadow" 


	3. Ride a zoid?

A/N: Okay, considering this is my first Zoid flick live with me. If I continually get some word(s) misspelled or all together wrong please review and 'nicely' correct me. Thanks! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Fool! Get in the zoid!" Raven shouted harshly at the girl.  
  
"Huh?" she replied,  
  
"Get in the stupid zoid kid!"  
  
Realizing that she had no choice and that getting in this zoid would probably be safer then trying to flee from the soldiers she followed Raven into the Genobraker, taking a seat in the back of the cockpit. Daring to glance out the side she gasped at how high up they where.  
  
"What's wrong with you?" He asked his voice anything but sympathetic.  
  
"I've never been in a zoid before."  
  
"Then you certainly are of a minority around here. Just sit tight and shut up. If you get scared or motion sick close your eyes and pretend you are not here"  
  
"Oh, you're very reassuring..." the girl mumbled back.  
  
"You should be glad I'm even letting you come along."  
  
Sitting in the pilots seat, Raven got ready to mobolize the Genobraker. As the monster came to life it was piloted out of the clearing and back towards where they had just been running from.  
  
"What the heck are you doing?" She shouted. Raven made no reply. "Hello! Zi to Raven! Come in Raven!"  
  
"Silence! Can't you see I'm a little busy here?"  
  
She sat back again, making a mental note to herself. Yes, all the stories about Raven being on the irritable side where true and probably should be heeded in the future.  
  
Successfully manouvering the Genobreaker through the forest Raven moved back towards the road where they had left the soldiers, stopping in front of them. The soldiers realized how harmless they where, but fired at the massive zoid with the guns anyway. The efforts proved futile.  
  
"Pathetic," Raven muttered under his breath. "Absolutely pathetic"  
  
Shifting a few gears the metal monster was again in motion, walking over, and on a few of the soldiers. He sneered as they passed over top the helpless men. The girl peered over the side and outside, watching the ongoing violence.  
  
"Cool."  
  
Pleased that no one was left standing Raven turned the Genobreaker away and moved it off into the distance, trying to decided where to set up the new camp for the night, somewhere a good distance off from this protected area.  
  
"So you like this sorta stuff?" He asked her calmly.  
  
"Sure do!"  
  
Raven nodded lightly, remaining silent for a while. "And what did you say your name was again?"  
  
"I didn't. But its Ariana..." 


	4. Decision Time

"Okay, they were going to kill you for terrorizing the city. Your name is Ariana. Your parents died when you where still a little kid. Your brother ran off when he got a bunch of girls pregnant, so you've been on your own. That just now was your first time in a zoid and you don't even know what an organoid is?" Raven questioned the girl as they sat around the small fire while the coffee pot was warming up.  
  
"Yeah, you got it about right." Ariana paused for a moment before turning back to Raven. "And you still haven't told me what an organoid is!"  
  
"If only all could be as ignorant as you." He mumbles and pointed to Shadow and Yenti.  
  
"What about Yenti?"  
  
"An organoid..."  
  
Ariana looked at him comically. Not yet understanding what he meant.  
  
Raven scoffed in disgust but continued trying to explain it to her. "Shadow and your companion, they are organoids."  
  
"Oh," Suddenly feeling really dumb she sat back, sinking into her poncho style cloak. "I'm a little slow..."  
  
"I have figured that out by now."  
  
  
  
Soon the coffee was ready and Raven poured them both a cup. Much time was passed in silence as both where deep in thought. Raven didn't know what to do. This girl knew too much. He certainly couldn't just boot her out. Something else kept him from telling her to get lost as well. Something deep within him told she would be of great worth in the not too distant future. But how could that be? She knew so little about zoids whereas he lived only for their battles and destruction.  
  
"Alright, I have a few questions to ask you. Answer me truthfully." Raven said as he finally broke the overwhelming silence.  
  
"I'd be too scared to lie to you," the girl replied, almost chuckling.  
  
"Excellent. Now, if I where to tell you to go back out on your own, what would you do?"  
  
"I would get the heck out of here and go back to being a theif in my homelands."  
  
"That's not the smartest thing to do."  
  
"It's the only thing I know."  
  
"And what would you do if I told you could stay here, to travel and battle with me?"  
  
"I would be extremely curious as to why you even wanted me to hang around, but would anyway."  
  
Raven sighed deeply, for once in his life utterly confused about what to do. "Something is telling me you need to stay, that you will be of great help in the future. I don't know why. It just is. So the choice is now yours. Go or Stay."  
  
Ariana sat quietly for a moment, thinking on the terrible decision before her. To go back would mean to be with all things familiar again. She would live the life of a thief again. But to stay, how much safer was it? To stay with this boy would mean plenty of chances to fight against others and do it with someone who too enjoyed battle and violence as much as herself. It would also mean doing a lot of things with zoids and it would give her more of a chance to learn about the stuff that was all around her, the zoids. But was this Raven trustworthy? Would he just kill her in her sleep?  
  
"I'll stay," Ariana announced after her long period of thought. Whether or not this boy was trustworthy was just a chance she would have to take.  
  
"Good," Raven replied, tossing a blanket at her. "You have first watch."  
  
"Oh, that's just dandy," she mumbled as she moved to a high point on the land beside where Yenti was laying in the grass.  
  
After watching her sit beside her organoid for a moment Raven walked over to Shadow. "Keep a good watch on her. I don't want to wake up dead or everything stolen."  
  
Shadow roared in agreement and turned to watch the two girls as Raven walked off to set up his own makeshift bed for the night. The future would certainly prove interesting now that there was another human floating about camp. Would it be for better or for worse? 


	5. Meet Reese

"Don't think you'll get away. No one ever has. And don't think he'll turn his back. It doesn't work like that. You're caught just like me, but it's not really all that bad. And someday, I think you'll understand I just hope that day comes fast. I bet you don't know just what it is that you're running from. And you're eyes are so blank. Those kinds of things are never good. You're caught just like me, but it's not really all that bad. And I think, someday you'll understand. I just hope that day comes fast. And I think, someday you'll understand. I just hope that day comes fast. You're running faster than I ever could. I guess you're right, I guess I can't understand. But what I know is you can run as fast and far as you want and it won't make any difference in the end." Ariana continued on humming the rest of the song.  
  
"Could you cut that out now?" Raven barked, only to realize that the volume on her disc man was up way too loud for her to hear anything. Growling lightly he leaned up from the controls of the Genobreaker and thumped her upside the head, which got immediate reaction.  
  
"What the heck was that for?" Ariana demanded as she pulled the headphones off.  
  
"You where starting to bother me with your insistent singing."  
  
"Oh." As she placed the headphones back on she started to hum the now current song.  
  
Again he thumped her head, this time even harder then the first time.  
  
Ariana again ripped off her headphones, and rubbed the side of her now wounded head. "Ow! Now what?"  
  
"How about we just don't listen to any music?" Raven suggested in a threatening tone of voice.  
  
"Alright," she replied, innocently placing the disc man on the floor of the cockpit.  
  
Silence again reigned. Raven sighed. Good. Quiet. That was precisely how he liked it. What was he thinking when he let this girl travel with him? She was starting, no she was annoying. But then again he had found a lot of her ignorance amusing and that at least was an improvement to his way of living. A couple of laughs, other then when he had obliterated other zoids, was good. But was it really worth the nuisance of Ariana? That would have to wait for later.  
  
"Raven, darling, why do you keep avoiding me? You act as though you don't need me, which I believe we both know the truth."  
  
"What the heck?" Ariana shouted, surprised by the suddenness of the new voice.  
  
Raven laughed at the girl's reaction. "Sissy!"  
  
"Darling! Raven! Who is that with you?" The voice replied, offended. "Raven, why are you traveling with someone else? With a girl?"  
  
"I highly suggest you stop calling me 'Darling' and go get your own life Reese. I'm fully capable of running my own without you."  
  
It was then that Ariana finally noticed the blue electronic bug crawling around on the side of the cockpit. That was the source of the voice.  
  
"Raven! Why do you have a girl in there with you? What are you doing in there?"  
  
Raven raised his hand to squash the bug, but Ariana stopped him.  
  
"Please? May I?" She begged him. Much in the same manner as a child begs an adult for candy.  
  
"Have at it," he replied chuckling.  
  
Swift as lightning she hit the electronic insect with the back of her hand, leaving Reese way off where ever she was as mad as a rattlesnake.  
  
She snickered as all the little pieces of the bug fell to the ground. "I wonder how much one of those little things cost."  
  
"I couldn't tell you, but something is telling me that we will be hearing from Reese again really soon." Raven replied.  
  
"Was Reese that person we just heard?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh," Ariana sat back in silence for a while. She had soon learned not to talk continually. Talk a lot and Raven gets mad, which fits nicely in the bad things category.  
  
"Where are we going again?" She asked after she was sure she had left a good enough time of silence.  
  
"The ancient ruins, so we can test your organoid and see just how powerful that thing is," Raven responded calmly.  
  
"How can we test Yenti at the ruins? I mean, what can we do there we can't here?"  
  
"We are going to see if she can resurrect a zoid that has long since died. If she can then she'll be strong enough for anything you'll need her for. Plus, you'll have your own zoid and I won't be stuck chauffeuring you around.  
  
Oh, well I guess that makes sense...I guess," Happy enough with his answer she sat back against her seat and started to drift off to sleep.  
  
  
  
A/N: Noperz. I didn't make up the song. It copyrighted tooth&nail records. Played by a band called 'Plankeye.' Listen to them. They are pretty good and for all I know currently Ariana will probably end up singing them again lol 


	6. Hello Van

"Whoa!" Ariana looked on her organoid fused with an ancient Rev raptor and the zoid came to life. It looked as though it had never suffered an injury in its life and had just been shined as bright as the heavens.  
  
Raven smirked. A Rev raptor? Could the organoid have picked a simpler one to resurrect? But perhaps this one would work. Something easy that Ariana could learn with. Learn the basic commands, how to fire and actually hit your target. Then they would simply get a bigger, stronger zoid, and use this one as target practice. Yes, it could work.  
  
"Alright, now get in, scoot over, and I'll show you how to work one of these things." Raven ordered her.  
  
Ariana happily jumped into the cockpit. She wasn't too fond of zoids, but loved their destructive power. Soon after she was in Raven followed, mobolizing the raptor he immediately began to give Ariana her fist lesson, and to his great surprise she caught on rather quickly. After only about an hour of basic lessons she already had the zoid completely under her control and could hit any target dead on.  
  
Pleased with her quick progress Raven pointed out a blue target way off in the distance. Locking it in her sights she fired the guns. A loud explosion followed and then something quite unexpected happened.  
  
A roar was heard in the distance as another zoid emerged. The target Ariana had just hit was a little bit more then a target.  
  
"Oops..." She muttered under her breath as a large blue blade liger came towards them.  
  
As soon as Raven realized who is was he burst out laughing wildly.  
  
"Good job, kid! You just hit Van Fleiheight!" He managed to say between breaths.  
  
"And he is...?"  
  
"Your soon to be worst enemy."  
  
Pushing Ariana over to the side Raven took up the commands, moving the zoid towards the other. As soon as it was within range he fired again, the pilot of the liger caught off guard and not putting his shield up.  
  
"Who are you and what do you think you are...Raven!" A screen popped up inside the cockpit, a picture of Van with Fiona in the back showed on it.  
  
Raven smirked, "Yes, Van, it's me."  
  
Ariana pulled the hood of her oversized sweater over her head, covering her hair and face. In doing so Fiona noticed her in the background.  
  
"Van! Who's that?" She asked him.  
  
"Raven, why are you traveling with someone?"  
  
"Why else would I be in such a pathetic zoid?" he replied irritated.  
  
"Hey, girl! Who are you and why are you traveling with this criminal." Van spoke to Ariana.  
  
"My identification is for me to know, not you. And I travel with Raven because I can."  
  
"I hate vague answers."  
  
"Tough," she replied harshly.  
  
As the two had been bickering Raven had been fiddling with the controls and was aiming up Van's Blade liger. While Ariana unknowingly kept him busy with his questions and her useless answers Raven aimed and...fire! The shot jolted the liger and damaged it slightly. Fiona screamed and Ariana smirked with delight. However, it didn't take Van long to retaliate. He shot back at the raptor and hit, hard.  
  
"The raptor's going down! We need to eject!" Raven shouted out to Ariana.  
  
"And how, pray tell, do I manage that?"  
  
"You jump out or fuse with your organoid."  
  
"Okay..." Hearing an explosion near the back of the rev raptor Ariana knew time was running short. Before even knowing what she was doing she called out for Yenti loud and hard. What came next was more then a surprise to her. The organoid seemed to open up its chest cavity and strap her within. Inside of the organoid she saw almost like a movie, many different flashes of someone's life before her. The images where so realistic, so 3- D, like she had been transported into another world. They seemed familiar, and yet not all in the same instant. But very little time did she have to think of it because very soon after Yenti placed her back on the ground outside the exploding zoid.  
  
Ariana looked beside her. Shadow and Raven where beside her, now they where off towards the Genobreaker.  
  
"What are we doing now?" She shouted to Raven as they ran.  
  
"We get into the Genobreaker. Then we have some real fun."  
  
She smiled as she ran, "Sounds good to me!"  
  
  
  
"Van!" Fiona screamed. "Look! That Organoid! It's not Shadow!"  
  
They watched as Ariana was placed down from within Yenti. Fear, anger, and many unknown emotions swept through Fiona and Van.  
  
"No, it's not Shadow. That girl has an organoid as well! Two organoids, two highly destructive people both with the capabilities to kill. I hope the Guardian Force can handle two Ravens!" Van shook his head as he spoke, enraged that another would join the horrid ways of Raven.  
  
  
  
Ariana scrambled into the cockpit after Raven, securing herself in the back. As soon as everything was ready Raven moved the Genobreaker off towards the liger.  
  
"Now Van! Your judgement day has come!" 


	7. Let Him Go

"Hang on, Fiona! This is going to be a bumpy ride!" Van called out to the girl in the Liger's cockpit with him.  
  
Raven charged the zoid before him, firing at it all the while. Van tried to dodge the shots but was hit by many. The Geno Breaker moved in quickly after that, picking up the Blade Liger in its claws, keeping a hold of it in a vice like grip. Flying up high into the air he released the pathetic tiger type zoid. Ariana and Raven laughed with glee as the zoid plummeted downwards. At the last few seconds of the all Van managed to get the Shield up, cushioning the fall slightly, just barely enough.  
  
As soon as he possibly could, Van raised the liger back up and took off away from the Geno Breaker. He couldn't win this one and he wasn't going to try to if it would put Fiona in any risk. "Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" he mumbled as he turned the ion boosters on.  
  
"Mhmm," Fiona agreed as the raced off.  
  
"Coward!" Raven shouted angrily as he began to follow them away.  
  
Ariana placed her hand on his should. "Let them go."  
  
"Oh, don't tell me you are a softy!"  
  
"No, I want you to get them too, but you will appreciate the next fight more if you let them go now."  
  
"How so?" He asked skeptically.  
  
"I know how people like that work, their cowardice grows on them. They soon grow to hate themselves for fleeing. They come back very quickly with vengance, which usually makes for a better fight. You will have more fun next time if you let him go now." She answered calmly.  
  
"And how do you know this?"  
  
"I may not have battled with zoids before, but I have gotten myself into many a fist fight. You let someone like Van flee like a coward they come back later. When they do the fight is usually better too."  
  
Raven stopped the Geno Breaker and watched Van flee into the distance. He then turned back to Ariana. "If they don't come back and fight better I will hold you personally responsible and you will regret it dearly."  
  
She shrugged and smiled slyly. "They'll come back. I'm quite sure of it. And if they don't then I suppose I'll deserve whatever I get."  
  
Raven snorted and turned the zoid back towards the ruins. They might as well go ahead and finish Ariana's piloting lessons while they where in the area. 


	8. Word gets out

"Captain O' Connell!! I need to talk to you immediately," Van shouted as he ran towards the man. "Something of urgency has come up."  
  
"Well come to my office Van, we will discuss this." O' Connell replied.  
  
Van and Fiona followed the Captain into his office and took their seats beside his desk.  
  
"Well, what is it Van? What is it that is so important?"  
  
"Captain, it has come to the attention of the Guardian Force that Raven no longer travels alone."  
  
"What?" He asked, brow furrowed in confusion.  
  
"It's true Captain." Fiona spoke up. "Just this morning when Van and I were on patrol near the ruins someone shot at us. You can imagine how surprised we where to find out it was someone else in a Rev Raptor with Raven, and a girl at that."  
  
"She got us good too. We couldn't even see them when we were hit." Van finished.  
  
"Well don't stop there! This is important! Tell me everything about this girl. What did she look like? Did you catch a name?" O' Connell began asking.  
  
"I tried to see, but she wore a large sweater and covered her head with the hood, like she didn't want us to see her or something. And I couldn't catch a name. Raven called her kid once, but no names." Fiona replied.  
  
"But by the way she acted and her size I believe her to be around seventeen years of age." Van finished.  
  
"This is very serious. Did they seem to be on good terms with each other? Does she seem so crazily dangerous as Raven? Is she a good pilot?" The Captain continued with his questions.  
  
"Judging by her shot I would say she is a pretty decent pilot. However, she didn't seem like she knew much. She asked a lot of questions. As to her attitude I don't know. When we tried to talk to her she gave very vague answers and did not act kindly at all. She did stop Raven from following after us, though her reason wasn't for our wellbeing." Van answered the Captain's questions as thoroughly as he could.  
  
"From what I, as a Zoidian, can tell she trusts Raven fully and respects him quiet a bit." Fiona added in.  
  
"This is very serious, very serious indeed." O' Connell sat back and sighed. What where they going to do now? "We must get as much information as we can. And stay high on our guard to see what will happen from this. You may leave now."  
  
Van and Fiona nodded before standing. "You can count on us, Captain." Van said just before he exited the room.  
  
"I do hope so..." 


	9. Guardian Force's Most Wanted

"Oh well, I guess that's just the way that it is. Don't bother none..."  
  
Raven sighed as Ariana again started to sing as they walked on. He had long since stopped trying to make her cut it out. She would only stay silent for about ten minutes before starting up again. It was a useless battle.  
  
"What are you looking at, Ariana?" he asked the girl. Oddly enough she had stopped and was looked at a paper posted on the wall of a building.  
  
She burst out laughing and pulled the paper off the wall. "Look Raven! We aren't just on the Guardian Force's most wanted, we are the Guardian Force's Most wanted!"  
  
Taking the paper away from her he began to study it. A decent picture of him was on it as well as a really bad drawing and description of Ariana. "You know, you really don't have to do much to get here anymore." He smirked. "Just hang out with someone like me."  
  
She grinned and snatched the paper back. "I'm going keep this. My first ever 'Wanted' poster. I'm so proud!"  
  
Raven just looked at her laughingly and shook his head. "You're weird."  
  
"I already know that. I don't need you to tell me."  
  
The two had decided to venture into a nearby small town to buy some supplies they would be needing soon and this one seemed as good as any. It was so far off not a soul paid any real notice to them. The villagers just saw them as people traveling through and resupplying. Raven thought it might not be the safest thing to do, walking out in the public and all. Ariana couldn't have cared less about the safety factor.  
  
  
  
  
  
"They are in my sight, Colonel. That's certainly Raven and there is, may I repeat there is someone else with him."  
  
"Excellent job! Keep a close eye on them. We are sending out re enforcements immediately."  
  
"Roger that. Over and out."  
  
  
  
A/N Okay so its a pretty darn short chapter. IM SORRY OKAY?!?!?? lol To all you peoples who like Thomas, Moonbay, and Irvine they will be coming in soon. I don't want to bring them in just for the heck of it so I'm waiting for the perfect time to make their characters really good for this story. But they will be coming soon! As will the next chapter. And thanks to all who reviewed!! They are greatly appreciated!! 


	10. Skyfeather?

"Gosh, I hate spies."  
  
Ariana placed her silenced PP7 back into its well hidden holster as she walked over to the man who now lay dead on the ground. A single bullet through the chest had been his fate.  
  
"Eagle 1! Eagle 1, are you there? I repeat! Eagle 1!"  
  
"Huh? What's this?" Ariana thought as she knelt down and picked up a walkie talkie that was inside the man's coat.  
  
"Hello?" She spoke confidently into it. "Who is this?"  
  
"Who is this?" A voice replied.  
  
"I asked you first!"  
  
"This is Colonel Schubaltz of the Imperial Army. What happened? We heard a gunshot."  
  
"Oh yes... That." She looked at the man's dog tags, using them as a referance. "Well I'm sorry about Jacob here, but I really am not too fond of people spying on me."  
  
"Did you kill him?"  
  
"Well I would say he is pretty dead."  
  
There was a long silence on the other side, a confused, thoughtful silence. "Who is this?"  
  
Ariana laughed as the words came over the electronic device. "Oh Schubaltz! Don't say you have forgotten me already!"  
  
No reply.  
  
She sighed. "The little thief who escaped her execution at Hurricane County. You just happened to be in town that day overseeing a new Zoid project. They went ahead and had you oversee my execution too, remember?"  
  
"Skyfeather!"  
  
"Some call me that."  
  
"Ariana, who are you talking to?" Raven asked as he stepped up to her. He had heard the gunshot and had decided to come investigate. His idea was paying off.  
  
"No one." she quickly replied, hiding the walkie talkie behind her back.  
  
"Odd," Raven walked off behind Ariana, pretending that he was just going to walk away but at the last minute he turned and grabbed the device from her.  
  
"Yes sir, this sure is nothing."  
  
"Raven, give it back!" Ariana shouted as she stood on her tippy toes and tried to snatch it back, but to no avail. Raven held it high above her. At last giving up, she sighed and stood still. "Woe to the vertically challenged girl." Raven couldn't help but chuckle at her little pity party and in doing so let his guard down.  
  
Seeing her chance Ariana lurched at Raven and forced him to the ground. Sure she was a girl, but she was pretty tough. Raven was more then surprised by her actions but went along. He laughed and tried to stand up, but Ariana refused to let him. The girl kept him pinned to the ground, but then again Raven didn't exactly try all that hard.  
  
  
  
"Hello?" the voice of Carl Schubaltz could again be heard. "What is going on?" All that he and the others could hear on their side was a bunch of shouts and crackling.  
  
Having decided enough was enough, Raven pushed Ariana off of him and jumped up. "Nothing," he shouted out. "Just having a few technical difficulties. Isn't that right girl?" Ariana stuck her tongue out, he just smirked in reply.  
  
"Raven! Why are you letting someone else travel and fight with you? Why are you so intent upon destruction?"  
  
Raven sighed. It's always the same. They always ask the same questions and it was becoming, in short, rather boring to talk to anyone nowadays.  
  
"Here, kid." He tossed Ariana the walkie talkie. She cried out in glee to have it back and immediately went back to chatting with Schubaltz, much to his displeasure.  
  
About thirty minutes into their talk Raven looked up in the sky to see a group of redlers fly over head.  
  
"Oh shoot!"  
  
"What is it?" Ariana asked in confusion.  
  
"They sent re-enforcements to come after us."  
  
"Yeah, I suppose that would fit nicely in the bad things category."  
  
Tossing the walkie talkie off to the side, Ariana and Raven sprinted back to the Geno Breaker. They were going to have to teach those punks a lesson for even daring to come after them. 


	11. Discussions

"Well Van, your description of the girl was by far an understatement." Colonel Schubatlz said at length, breaking the silence of the group.  
  
"You can't blame me! It's not like I actually knew her. I only said what I could tell for the few minutes I had to talk to her."  
  
Van, Fiona, Moonbay, Irvine, and the Schulbatlz brothers all stood together in the room, pondering over the events of the day.  
  
"Raven and the girl have escaped. The units we sent out where completely destroyed. There is no word as to whether there where any survivors yet." Thomas reported to the others as the information came in.  
  
"Colonel, I don't know about anybody else here, but it seemed to me like you knew the girl." Moonbay spoke up.  
  
He sighed. "Know her would be overdoing it, but I have met her before. About a month ago I was stationed in a small town called Hurricane County. They where having some important Zoid experiments there that I was to over see. While I was there they caught a thief. She had an extensive criminal record. She stole mercilessly and was very trigger happy, very accurate too. Her trial was short but she hardly needed a one there was so much evidence. She would never give out her name but the locals called her Skyfeather. She was exceedingly cocky and not once acted as though her trial was of any importance. She was just there. Well low and behold when the day of her execution came she escaped. No one had seen or heard of her since, but now that she is with Raven..."  
  
"I knew I had heard of that kid before!" Irvine cut in. "There was a girl that me and a few other people used to work with on occasion. She dabbled a bit in bounty hunting. She was really quiet and kept to herself. This girl too was called Skyfeather by a lot of people and always had a gun with her. She was never exactly anyone's favorite to work with but she was cold and got the job done reguardless. Rumor said she had an organoid with her too and that it saved her from a lot of problems."  
  
"That organoid we saw!" Fiona shouted.  
  
"She does have an organoid?" Irvine asked quickly.  
  
"Yes! A gold one! It's pretty fierce looking too."  
  
"If she was always so quiet around everyone else before, why is she so at ease around Raven?" Moonbay questioned. "It doesn't make sense."  
  
"They have a lot in common." Van replied. "They both are dangerous and don't really care for anyone but themselves. Their personalities in that respect are almost identical, which is probably why they get along well."  
  
They all stopped for a minute and thought on what Van had said. It was entirely possible that that was the reason.  
  
"Does anyone know if she can pilot a zoid?" Thomas asked.  
  
"I never saw her pilot one." Irvine replied. "She always seemed really wary around them and never talked about zoids much. But she was quick and smart when she wanted to be. I think we need to keep a close eye on her."  
  
"I agree," Van stated. "Anyone who is willing to work with Raven and fight with him is a serious threat to Zi. And someone we must keep under close watch."  
  
"What do you suggest we do, Colonel?" Fiona asked.  
  
"Keep your guard up. We must find Raven and this girl and stop them before anything worse happens."  
  
Nodding, everyone agreed that was the only thing they could do. But could they be quick enough to catch the two before anything worse happened? 


	12. Urgent News

"Emperor Rudolph! I have urgent news for you." Interrupted from his meeting the child emperor looked up at the screen which had popped up before him.  
  
"Yes, Madam President, what is it?" He replied in a calm matter.  
  
"Just this morning two of our bases where attacked by two Zoids. They are on a clear path going North East, into imperial territory. According to our trackers they are approximately three hours outside your base closest to the western border." She said in a near panicked state.  
  
"Did they completely destroy everything at your bases?"  
  
"Absolutely everything was destroyed."  
  
"Any survivors?"  
  
"None that we are aware of at this time."  
  
He stopped to think for a minutes. "You say it is two zoids?"  
  
"Yes two Zoids. One was Raven and his Geno Breaker. The other zoid is still unidentified at this time. No one could see it well enough to be certain. Many believe it is a blade liger though, the pilot too is unidentified."  
  
Rudolph sighed. Was the terror ever going to end? Would their ever be a time of true peace while he was in leadership? "Thank you, Madam President. We will begin investigations immediately and equip ourselves should these two attack."  
  
The screen disappeared and Rudolph sat in silence for a while, chin low as he stared at the ground. Just as his advisor was about to speak Rudolph picked up his head and motioned for the others to remain silent. "Call out the Guardian Force to the base. We must stop these menaces before they strike again." 


	13. Stupid Organoid

"Raven's Geno Breaker is now in sight. Approximately one hour outside of the base. From what we can see he is the alone. No other zoid in sight." The soldier zoomed in so he could see as close as too inside the cockpit. "Yes, he is all alone. No one inside the zoid with him either."  
  
"Excellent job, Private! Now get out of there as quickly as possible while you are still safe!"  
  
"Roger that, we are heading home."  
  
A slight feeling of relief came over Captain Fleiheight. They still had Raven to deal with, but wasn't one better then two? Placing the radio transmitter down he left the room to go find the others, an also relieved Fiona trotting behind him to keep up with the fast pace Van moved at.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Kid, the organoids are fighting again."  
  
"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Ariana replied lazily, looking at Raven as though he where insane.  
  
"Well, in my opinion, it would much appreciated it you broke their quarrel up."  
  
"Well, if it's so important, why don't you just get Shadow to quit?""  
  
"Because Shadow won't listen to me when he's fighting! He will fight until he's dead!" Raven just about shouted back, his annoyance with her showing quite plainly.  
  
"Kinda reminds you of someone else, huh?"  
  
"Are you trying to say something here?"  
  
"Nope, not me."  
  
"Good! Now go get your stupid Organoid off of Shadow!" Raven was, by this time, extremely mad and beyond shouting. Ariana knew exactly how to make his bad temper show and thought it very amusing, therefore making him explode at any possible chance.  
  
"She ain't stupid." Ariana said in an, oh, so calm manner.  
  
"That thing is stupid if I say it is, and I do. Now make it stop trying to destroy Shadow!"  
  
The young girl of sixteen years stood quietly and glanced at the two organoids duking it out. Then, just as silent she turned and headed off to where her cot lay.  
  
"What on Zi do you think you are doing?" Raven yelled at Ariana.  
  
She looked at him like an innocent school kid, placing her finger on her face as though in thought. "I think I am going to take a nap. G'Night!"  
  
"So you are just gonna let your stupid organoid kill Shadow?"  
  
"Look, if it really means that much, tell Yenti I want her. She should stop her rampage and come to see what I want."  
  
"Yeah, like I am going to do something because you tell me to. I told you to get your dumb organoid off of Shadow first!"  
  
Ariana shrugged and walked off to get something out of her bag. "Whatever."  
  
Raven watched as she walked off, growling lightly. "Stupid girl..." He turned back to the organoids. They had always known the gold Yenti was stronger in battle the Shadow, but how was she whipping him so?  
  
At last, Raven rationalized it within himself. He was probably going to need Shadow soon and couldn't afford to have him in such a sorry state. The boy whistled lightly, gaining the attention of the gold organoid. She sat for a minute staring at him.  
  
"Yenti, Ariana wants you," he said in a quiet tone, hoping to the gods Ariana didn't hear him.  
  
Hearing this, the metallic creature immediately jumped off of the darker one, releasing the black organoid from her hold. Standing to her full height, Yenti plodded over to a hysterical Ariana, pleased that she was called upon.  
  
Raven glared at Ariana with a discusted look in his eye. "You think that's mighty funny don't you?"  
  
"You better believe it, bucko." She responded between laughs.  
  
Raven was embarrassed and upset that he had actually taken someone's advice and done what they had told him to. Never again would he let it happen in the person's presense. Never.  
  
The morning passed into the afternoon, and then the afternoon into the evening. Raven was still pretty upset by their earlier quarrel and Ariana knew not to push it any further. She had had her fun for and the smartest thing to do would be to leave it at that. Very little was said that day as the two kept mostly to themselves.  
  
Ariana sat high on the very top of a mountain face while Raven kept at the foot, resting. As she scanned the desert side Ariana saw something that seemed flashy, something that caught her eye. Straining to see further she finally figured out what it was.  
  
"Hey, uh, Raven you might want to come check this out." She called out to him.  
  
Muttering and fuming about things the whole way he made it up and stood beside her, glaring off in the distance. He too saw the small shiny speck. Raven's mood was immediately lifted as he smirked, realizing what that small speck was. Now they could most certainly have some fun. Maybe he wouldn't go to bed mad after all.  
  
"At last, they have finally come for us." He chuckled lightly as he spoke. "Get in your zoid kid. Climb up high somewhere and stay out of the way unless I need you, got it?"  
  
Ariana nodded, understanding exactly what he meant. Leaving Raven standing on the mountain face she ran off towards her own zoid. Locking everything in place she began mobolization. If she was lucky, there would be some action in store for her tonight.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Look people you should be happy! An actually long chapter!!! Sorry peoples, I just have a REALLY bad habit for writing short chapters, but I am working on it! Honest!  
  
Fanfiction screwed up somehow and mixed chapter 1&2 with each other. Weird, huh? So if you just joined my little Saga, please go back and read them in the right order to get the full impact.  
  
Okay for the person who wanted to know if Raven and Ariana get paired up, I'm not telling you! That is only for me to know and you to find out *wink* So you will have to stay! And Keep reading! And waste your time reading my story to find out what happens! MWUAHAHAHA!!!! My gosh that was fun....  
  
Thanks to all who review! You guys are what gives me a reason to keep going! Thanks a zillion!!! 


	14. The Royal Zaber Tiger

Once Ariana had made it to the top of the cliff side and had secured herself down to watch the oncoming battle Raven crawled into the Geno Breaker. So the guardian Force had finally decided to come after him. Excellent.  
  
"Raven," Van sent a message to Raven as soon as he was in distance.  
  
"Van," he echoed.  
  
"We have come to destroy you and all evil you stand for."  
  
Raven smirked at Van's foolish words. "I figured you would say something like that, but we have other plans."  
  
"It's not we anymore Raven," Irvine shouted. "Your little friend left you."  
  
"Don't get your hopes up."  
  
"What do you suppose he means by that?" Thomas asked himself aloud.  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine," Irvine yelled back.  
  
"Enough chit chat!" Raven stated with authority, "Now we fight!"  
  
Nodding, Van lurched the Blade Liger forward, Irvine and Thomas following him closely. They where going to try the delta formation again, this time with Irvine and Thomas behind the massive Geno breaker. Formation ready, Irvine and Thomas began to fire massive amounts of Ammo at the fan of the Geno Breaker's charged particle cannon as Raven went after Van.  
  
Raven turned his attention from Van momentarily and got ready to charge up the charge particle beam. "Still afraid of the charged particle gun I see?" Both Irvine and Thomas got their shields up, however they couldn't last this time. The force of the blast pushed them back against another cliff, leaving Van and Raven to fight in the valley.  
  
Seeing his chance, Van mobolized the Liger's blades and jumped up at the Geno Breaker, but his timing was off. Right as he jumped Raven turned the Geno breaker around and picked the Blade Liger out of the air like a toy. Van screamed in fury and tried to get back to the ground but it was of no use.  
  
Raven played with the Liger, acting like he was going to break it in half, then not. After having enough of this Raven pulled the Geno Breaker up into the air and dropped the Liger purposefully. Van had sensed that this would happen. As soon as the liger was released he pushed off, like he was jumping off of a mountain and made all haste away from the recovering Lighting Saix and D-Bison, Raven following after. It was here that Ariana saw her chance.  
  
Lurching from her perch, the girl landed in front of the two zoids, though they remained unaware of her presense. "Raven! I got these guys covered!"  
  
"They are all yours kid!" He yelled back as he continued his pursuit of Van.  
  
"Oh buddy!" She cried out happily. "Now its time to have some real fun!"  
  
Everyone looked about wildly. Okay, so the girl was still around, but where? No one could see her.  
  
Pleased with the situation, Ariana flicked a few switches and she, inside of Saber Fang looking zoid, became visible to everyone as she stood directly before Thomas and his D-Bison.  
  
"Where the heck did you come from?" He screamed in fright.  
  
"Don't you just love cloaking devices?"  
  
"How did you...?"  
  
"Let's just say I like to expirement with arsenal and such."  
  
Thomas remained silent. He didn't know what to say.  
  
"Skyfeather!" A screen from Irvine popped up before Ariana. "Why are you doing this?"  
  
"Why does anyone do anything?"  
  
"What made you decide to work with someone as horrible as Raven?"  
  
"We fight for the same purposes."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I don't like zoids." she stated firmly, her voice sounding off.  
  
Irvine shuddered as he heard those familiar and horrific words. Who couldn't like zoids? They where the helpers and friends of many humans. A zoid would be loyal to the end, unlike many humans. Who in their right mind would want to destroy zoids? Oh how he wished he could strike out and destroy the insolent young brat, but the Lightning Saix had frozen do to low energy.  
  
Ariana now stood still looking from the Lightning Saix to the D- Bison. "Eenny, meenny, miny, mo, I think the D-Bison is the first to go!" Ariana immediately stroke out the gears on her enhanced zoid and bolted off after the already fleeing Thomas.  
  
"What kind of a zoid is that?" Thomas shouted to Beek, It whistled in reply, not knowing.  
  
"It was once an ordinary Zaber Tiger, but I customized it up real good. Say hello to my Royal Zaber Tiger." As if on command, the large beast screamed out in fury as the gap between the two Zoids closed.  
  
Ariana caught Thomas in her sights and prepared to shoot. "All I know is you can run as fast and far as you want, but it won't make any difference in the end..."She fired the double barrel beam cannons, her aim was true. She shot repeatedly and knocked the D-Bison's legs out from under it. Like a cat on a mouse she pounced upon the fallen beast, front left claws at the joint between the neck and shoulder of the D-Bison. Applying a little pressure, then more and more the Di-Bison couldn't take it any longer and the head flew from the body. She could just hear a scream from Thomas before the Transmitter went out.  
  
"Oh you know that hurt," she muttered chuckling. Using the double barrel beam again she fired repeated shots at the body of the D-Bison until it exploded into flames. Her mission was just to destroy zoids, not just disable them.  
  
Turning, she made all haste back to the area where Irvine and his Lightning Saix sat, still useless. She smirked and eyed them. "There is approximately ten seconds before your Zoid is back in commission. I'll give you that time."  
  
Irvine smirked at her stupidity. He would easily be able to take her out with an attitude like that. The ten seconds was up and the Royal Zaber Tiger pounced at the Lightning Saix, it just moving in time to escape the same fate as the D-Bision.  
  
"Impressive."  
  
"Ha! If you think that's good just watch this." Irvine kicked the Lightning Saix into high gear, pleased with its quick speed.  
  
Ariana just smirked and followed for a little. "All around the Mulberry bush, the monkey chased the Weasel." She halted her zoid and just stood there, like the command system had frozen. Irvine turned swiftly and went out to charge her.  
  
"The monkey thought t'was all in good fun." Ariana continued to sing in a monotone voice.  
  
Irvine grinned smuggly. He would kill this girl in his first battle with her.  
  
Just as he was close enough everything went horribly wrong. The Zaber Tiger produced blades and a shield. "Where in the..." But it was too late, try as he would to stop the Lightning Saix had too much momentum. Ariana lowered the shield just as soon as it reflected the shots by Irvine and in doing so produced a clear path to destruction. The Lightning Saix slammed straight through her blade, slicing the once great beast straight in half. She hopped to the side to avoid any possible harm and fired her Double Barrel cannons at it, with so much pf its inner workings exsposed the Lighting Saix exploded, ruining the zoid core.  
  
"Boom, the weasel exploded." She ended and turned quitely to where Raven now fought. The Blade Liger had taken some serious hits and the Geno Breaker was just toying with it now. At last Raven brought the large, clawed foot of the Geno Breaker to the side of the extremely weakened Liger, kicking it strong and hard. He smirked and brought down the entire mass of the Geno Breaker upon it, crushing all its workings, leaving the zoid completely worthless and unusable.  
  
Raven looked up to see Ariana back up on her cliff watching the battle. He was not surprised to see her there almost completely unharmed. Though she knew practically nothing when they started, she was a smart kid. And a fast learner. She had proved herself a valuable asset to him.  
  
"You got 'em good girl?" He asked.  
  
"Let's just say it'll be a long time before we are seeing the Guardian Force again." Ariana grinned as she spoke these words.  
  
"Good," He replied firmly as he turned silently moving off to find a new place to set up camp. Ariana, with Yenti flying above her, following right behind. 


	15. Casualties

"Irvine!" Moonbay shouted as she ran across the battlefield to where the man laid unconcious upon a medical stretcher. For a minute she thought he was dead but Moonbay was told otherwise by the doctors that stood beside him. She knelt beside him, crying silently for her fallen friend while at the same time helping the doctors check for a regular pulse and internal injuries.  
  
The rest of the scene of the battlefield looked much the same. Ambulances where all over the place while others helped set up emergency hospital tents. Van and Fiona stood close to each other surveying the damage on the Blade Liger. It would be a long time before it was again up and working. Surprisingly enough, Van had suffered very little physical injury during the battle. A head ache along with a few cuts and bruises from being thrashed around was all.  
  
Thomas had been able to eject from the head of the D-Bison when it was thrown from its body. Unfortunely for him however, the landing had been rough and he had a broken arm and a good sized cut to the side of his face. His pride had been severely damaged that a first time pilot could take him out so easily.  
  
Irvine got the worst of the battle. When the Lightning Saix had been sliced through the upper most part had fallen to the ground. Lucky for Irvine, the initial force of the blow knocked him out cold. When the Zaber Tiger had continued its attack on the Lightning Saix the whole of it burst into flames. Irvine had barely made it out with his life and the doctors where still not sure whether or not he would make it through the night.  
  
As for the zoids themselves, the zoid of cores of the Lightning Saix and the D-Bison where damaged beyond repair. The Lightning Saix died instantly and the D-Bison passed on in the chaos of the afternoon, only two heaps of gloomy metal lay behind where the once great fighters had been. The Blade Liger, though horribly wounded had amazed everyone. Its will to live alone must have saved it. The core remained untouched and Van was willing to do anything to save his beloved Liger.  
  
Fiona walked silently over to where Thomas stood over the dead D- Bison, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I'm sorry about the D-Bison, Thomas. Was Beek able to survive?" She asked in a hushed voice.  
  
"No. Beek too is gone. Maybe I'll be able to make another one and maybe I won't. I still have the blue prints, but no one could ever replace him."  
  
"I understand."  
  
"I don't understand it, Fiona." Thomas said after a long pause. "She fights like an animal. She knew we where beat after the D-Bison was down, but why did she keep coming? Why did she want to kill him so badly?"  
  
"I don't know." Fiona sighed. Would Thomas be able to return to battling zoids after such a great fall? "Some things just can't be explained."  
  
"I bet Raven had something to do with it," he muttered.  
  
"In all likelihood. If you had been able to watch her tactics like I was, you could see she does many things the same way Raven does but also adds her own twists."  
  
"Together they took out all three of us. Only the Blade Liger survived. We didn't even know she was there. We couldn't have equipped ourselves if we didn't know of the other enemy. If she hadn't been there we might have been able to stop Raven from being able to use his charged particle gun."  
  
"Do you think that might be the reason he keeps her around?" Fiona suggested.  
  
"Maybe. I'll have to bring the thought up with everyone else." He then turned back to the D-Bison. Placing his hand upon it cold side.  
  
"Could you please leave us alone, Miss Fiona?" Thomas asked in almost a whisper.  
  
"Of course." Fiona turned to go back to Van as Thomas sank down beside his dead zoid. The D-Bison was his partner, his loyal friend, and now, he was gone.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Look at them crying over a bunch of Zoids!" Ariana laughed aloud.  
  
Raven chuckled. "It is pretty amusing isn't it?"  
  
Ariana and Raven stood high upon a distant hilltop. They had been watched the on goings of the battlefield since they had departed from the fight.  
  
"Too bad the Blade Liger didn't die as well. That would have been a perfect record." Ariana thought aloud.  
  
"I left him alive on purpose," Raven replied.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
Van and his Blade Liger are my biggest opponent. They alone present any challenge at all. If I had destroyed the Liger and then all that was left for me to fight would be the weaklings at the different bases it would grow rather boring and monotonous don't you think?"  
  
Ariana nodded. She understood quite well what he meant and to her it made sense as well.  
  
They stood there silently for sometime watching as the events at the battle ground slowed and Irvine awoke.  
  
"You know," Ariana stated. "I've been thinking."  
  
"I'm afraid," Raven joked.  
  
"Na, this should be easy. It' just something that' been bugging me."  
  
"Then continue," Raven ordered.  
  
"You know how right before I escaped I said, 'Everyone present will soon regret this.'?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well I'm a woman of my word and I think it's about time that prophecy came true."  
  
Raven smirked. He knew what she meant. "Fair enough. We'll leave to go back to Hurricane County whenever you are ready."  
  
Grinning, Ariana said nothing but continued to hold her gaze on the distance. Oh, how enjoyable it would be to go back to that town and to repay them for every wrong they ever paid her. Oh, how enjoyable it would be indeed! 


	16. Pink Shirts and Scars

"Arg!" Ariana screamed out in frustration as she slammed her head against the keyboard.  
  
Raven looked at her and laughed. "Didn't that hurt?"  
  
"I am immune to pain." she replied very flatly, angered and extremely annoyed that she couldn't find the bug in her computer system. She had been working on it for nearly the entire afternoon and could not find nothing amiss.  
  
Pulling out a dull knife he carried with him Raven held it against Ariana's milky white arm, applying just the slightest bit of pressure. Feeling the blade, Ariana's head flew up as she jerked back, holding her arm close to her. She watched as a small stream of crimson blood trickled through her fingers. She stared at Raven, dumbfounded he would do such a thing.  
  
"Guess you aren't immune to pain after all." He stated smartly.  
  
"Haha. You think you are just so funny." She looked to her new wound, but seeing it made it hurt even worse so she covered the cut with her hand again. "You weren't supposed to test the theory!  
  
"I was teaching you a lesson."  
  
"Where you now?" Ariana said sarcastically. "If so, then what I am supposed to learn from all this."  
  
Raven smirked. "First off, don't you ever say anything that isn't true to me. You can never know when I will check to see if you are lying. And second, it pays to wear clothing that is a little less revealing and might actually serve as some."  
  
"Are you saying I have bad tastes?"  
  
"No, but I am saying you need to go shopping soon. And preferably get something that has sleeves and a back instead of just some criss-crossed straps. It could prove wise to your health." He popped on of the thin pink straps as he spoke.  
  
Ariana glared at him for a moment, not knowing quite how to make her comeback. "Well, I'm usually wearing my sweater too."  
  
"And I'm still trying to figure out how you can move properly with how oversized it is."  
  
Ariana again glared at Raven. They had argued so much he had begun to figure out her ways and was winning more of their quarrels. "Arg you." She muttered as she began to wrap a clean cloth around her arm.  
  
"Argue?" Raven replied.  
  
"No dumby." Ariana sighed at having to explain something else. "Arg you. Like 'Arg' and then 'you.' My own little way of saying curse you I guess."  
  
Raven made no reply. He simply watched the girl bandaging her wound for a little.  
  
  
  
"You know," he said at last. "If you think that's bad cut, you'll be doomed as a warrior."  
  
She nodded. "Yeah I know and I think I was making more of it then I should have. You just....surprised me is all."  
  
Raven smirked and said nothing.  
  
When Ariana was done wrapping her arm she turned to Raven and pulled up her pant leg. It showed off a rather large burn scar on the side of her leg. "See, now something like that is painfully."  
  
Raven looked at the scar for a minute and then to her. "That does look painful. How did you manage to get it?"  
  
"The DeathSaurer." She replied calmly, like it was a normal topic.  
  
"I thought you told me earlier you had never been in those parts of Zi, that you where a Republican and until now had never been in Imperial soil." He looked at her, a very confused look on his face.  
  
"I did. This was from the first time the DeathSaurer was around."  
  
"That's impossible, the DeathSaurer first apeared over a hundred years ago. There is no way you could still be around."  
  
"Huh?" Now it was Ariana's time to be confused. She had certainly been around then and there was no confusing the DeathSaurer with another zoid.  
  
Ariana was to hear no reply. Raven was too deep in thought to be aware of anything else at that moment. The only was anyone could still be alive and have survived the DeathSaurer would be.....  
  
  
  
A/N: Ooooohhhhhhhh Cliff Hanger! Can you guess what's going on? Can ya? Can ya? Well don't tell anyone if you can lol. Sorry I didn't write in a while. I guess everyone gets writers block once in a while.... 


	17. Ion Boosters

"Aha! I figured it out!" Ariana shouted happily as she punched in a few keys on the keyboard in front of her and in doing so disturbed Raven who was deep in thought. He lurched his head up, startled, but not allowing it to show.  
  
"Ion booster addition complete." A robotic female voice said as the two looked at the screen inside the cockpit of the Royal Zaber Fang.  
  
"That was so easy it scares me." Ariana found herself thinking aloud.  
  
"And it scares me that you are the one coming up with the plan for our next attack and it took you that long to figure out the code for adding the Ion boosters into your computer system." Raven said in his 'I could have figured that one out' tone of voice.  
  
"Don't worry about that." She said swiftly. "Look here I'll show you what I have in store."  
  
Raven moved over and stood over her shoulder, looking at the data on the small computer screen. "Alrighty, here is where we are now." Ariana pointed to a small red dot as she spoke. "And here is Hurricane County." She then pointed to a green spot. "When I was still terrorizing their city I always threatened that one day I was going to steal a zoid. Now I think it's about time I came through on my word."  
  
"What are we going to do with a bunch of worthless zoids?" Raven asked skeptically.  
  
"Well we aren't exactly going to steal them."  
  
Raven caught her gaze and held it a minute. "You really need to make up your mind."  
  
Ariana watched him a minute before continuing. Yes, it had been a while that she had been traveling with Raven and she certainly knew a lot about his mood swings but she still held a certain amount of fear towards him. She knew better then to push her limits. She knew when to quit and not rebel. Raven was top authority and it was that certain amount of fear that kept her alive. Shrugging it off Ariana continued.  
  
"I knew we wouldn't want a bunch of worthless zoids so I planned ahead. We won't even need our zoids for this mission. What I believe will wok best is if we stalk into the city in the dead of night, attach some explosives to the few zoids remaining there and get the heck out."  
  
Raven listened intently as he watched the details on the screen. "And where are the explosives coming from?"  
  
Standing Ariana opened the small cargo hold in her Zaber Fang. Within were many types of small explosives. Small, but big enough to do some major damage, if not kill a smaller type zoid. "From what I remember there is nothing big in Hurrican County. Only the rich snots own zoids and it's just a few Gustavs, a helcat maybe. These should do just the trick."  
  
Raven snickered and turned back to the computer screen. As crazy as he believed the girl to be and as whacked as her plan was it made sense and could just possibly work. As he scanned over the screen, Raven noticed there was yet another dot on the screen. A larger, blue one.  
  
"What's that?" He questioned Ariana.  
  
"That would be the only base within miles. It's fairly large. I heard that that's where they are trying to make the new Lightning Saix development plant. Seeing as how you completely destroyed the last one." She replied very matter of factually.  
  
Raven smirked as he double clicked on the dot, reading all available information on the base. "I think we should stay an extra day in that area, forever rid ourselves of the bothersome Lightning Saix, if you know what I mean...."  
  
For a while a smirk was all of Ariana's reply before she finally spoke. "I suppose it would give me a chance to try out the ion boosters, to see if they are working properly and all before we go into actual combat against someone who can actually fight."  
  
That's the girl!" Raven slapped her on the back. In reality whether she had wanted to or not they would have attacked the base, but it is always an extra help when your comrade agrees. "It's all settled then. We'll get rid of those Zoids in your city first, so not to arouse any suspicion in the town before we strike. Then we'll put a halt to the Lightning Saix development."  
  
Ariana nodded. Why not add a little bit of spark to a day? A halt on Lightning Saix development wouldn't hurt in the least either. 


	18. Imported from the Empire

"Hand me that one, will ya, Raven? No, not the gray one the black one."  
  
Raven growled as he carefully placed the explosive in his hand down and picked up another. It was the dead of night! How was he supposed to be able to tell the difference between the two! And how the heck was she able to?  
  
Ariana hummed quietly, the only noise to be heard in the dead silence. The two where laying flat on the backs underneath one of the three Gustavs. Using a small personal computer Ariana had detected exactly where the cores to the zoids where. Carving off a small circle of the armour on the softer underbelly of the gustav she then placed it directly beneath the core. With one touch of a button it would be no more.  
  
"Ow," Ariana put her hand to her back as she moved herself from beneath the Gustav. The bomb was nicely in place and her back hurt like the devil. "My gosh that gravel is murder!"  
  
"Well if you wore some more decent clothing..." Raven reprimanded her while he too crawled out from beneath the massive transporter.  
  
"You aren't going to let me get away with that are you?"  
  
"No, I'm not exactly planning on it."  
  
Sighing in a mock depression Ariana turned to leave the premesis. It wasn't safe to hang around.  
  
Seeing as how it was Ariana's revenge Raven had decided to let her play leader and if she got them in some serious trouble he would more then kill her when it was all over.  
  
Soundlessly the two left the crime scene and headed off to finish the job. With the bombs inplanted in all three of the gustavs they only had the Helcat left to deal with. Easy enough.  
  
Upon their arrival Ariana stopped without any notices, Raven just barely keeping from running over her. They both stopped in time and heard a sound off in the distance.  
  
"We are going to die." Ariana said in an almost mute but panicky voice.  
  
"Don't panic now!"  
  
Ariana turned back. They needed to get away and back to the zoids then! "Are you kidding? This is the perfect time to panic!"  
  
Raven scoffed there was nothing at all around! They had heard one single noise and it had been made by a bat! He had seen it himself! What was she so worried about? "Quit this nonsense!" He commanded, but this time, she didn't listen. "There is nothing at all to panic abo-" Raven turned around in time to see a mobilized helcat off in the distance, and it had spotted them. "Never mind. Go ahead and panic."  
  
Ariana turned back to the direction in which they had come and ran as fast and as hard as she could. Only after running a fair distance did it hit the girl that there was no reason for running. A much quicker and easier way could get them to their zoids. "Yenti!" Copying her Raven called out for Shadow. Straight-away the two organoids appeared at their master's sides and within seconds the two humans where securely fused with their organoids.  
  
By this time the helcat pilot was aware of the presense of the two teens. Pushing the helcat into high gear he sped after the swiftly disappearing organoids. What he found at the end of his trail was enough to strike fear in the hearts of anyone. The fully mobilized Geno Breaker and Royal Zaber Tiger stood before him.  
  
"Well," Raven began. "What are you waiting for? Get after him kid!"  
  
"I am. I am." Ariana replied calmly as the fearful pilot of the helcat took off. Taking hold of the gears Ariana made no waste of time getting after him. Yenti flew over head, she was uneeded for so small a fight. Actually, to call this a battle would be to call the killing of a bug difficult.  
  
The large Zaber Tiger was swiftly on top of the Helcat. In one small leap it was on top and had over powered the lesser zoid. The pilot ejected on contact. Larged clawed paw on the neck of the helcat and a quick death came. As soon as the head was gone Ariana continued with the same tactics as where used on Thomas's D-Bison. The Helcat was dead before it had even begun.  
  
Raven smirked. "He didn't even try to fight you! Good job kid. Let's get out of here now before anyone comes to investigate."  
  
Ariana turned and obediently came to the side of the Geno Breaker like a puppy being called home. As soon as she was beside him they both turned to leave to safer grounds.  
  
"Oh wait!" Ariana suddenly called out. "I can't believe I almost forgot!"  
  
"What now?" Raven asked irritably.  
  
Ariana pulled out a small hand held detenator and toyed with the one single button. "We couldn't leave without finishing up the gustavs!"  
  
"That's not republican is it?"  
  
"Nope, it was imported from the Empire." she replied as her eyes scanned the horizon in the direction of the three seperate areas that the gustavs had been. Pushing the button there was nothing for a few seconds and then a deafening explosion. Three fires blasted towards the sky. Ariana sank back into the large pilot seat in her Zaber Tiger, taking in the beautiful sight. Oh yes, it was all worth it.  
  
"Satisfied?" Raven inquired.  
  
"Quite. Thank you." Ariana replied in a very pleased tone.  
  
Raven smirked. "Good." They had had their warm up, now off to the big leagues. A little time to rest and then the base of the Lightning Saix development would soon be under seige. It was a fair distance though so they would have some time to sit back and relax.  
  
"Ariana," Raven began.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"How did you know that Helcat was mobilized and on patrol?"  
  
Ariana sat back and curled up in the pilot's seat, taking her time and enjoying the relaxation of the moment. "I really don't know how. I just did. It was like I could sense it or something." She fingered her detailed leather armband as she spoke.  
  
Raven said nothing and just pondered over what Ariana had said. What she had said just now and her talking of the Death Saurer all pointed to one conclusion, but there was no way it could be true.  
  
  
  
A/N: Lookit here, I just redid this chapter. Why? I wasn't satisfied with it. Oh wells. To the people who keep asking if Raven and Ariana are going to become more then friends....I AIN'T GONNA TELL YA!!!!!!!! Well I'm glad that's out of my system lol. All reviews are welcome. Even flames! But if you flame tell me WHY you did lol. That way I might could go back and mix anything that needs it. 


	19. Stop Thinking!

"Who are you? State your name and reason for being here!" A screen popped up inside the cockpit of the Zaber Tiger, half spooking Ariana in the process.  
  
"Ah!" The girl laughed and then sat back again, regaining her composure. "Hey Raven, you wanna handle this one or can I?"  
  
"You can go ahead, I'm too busy."  
  
Ariana smirked as she looked back to the scream. The man on it earlier had an annoyed, hurry it up look, but as he heard the mentioning of Raven his face went pale. "Maybe you know me, maybe you don't, but most call me Skyfeather. Raven and I are approximately ten minutes away from attacking your pathetic little base. If you wish for the survival of any of your men I suggest you have them retreat now. Otherwise you may stay and try your luck at the battle. However, if any of your men should leave and take information about the Lightning Saix with then I shall personally see to it that every single man working here is hunted down and destroyed." Ariana smirked lightly, surprised and very pleased with the length and formality of her speech.  
  
The man gulped as a sweat broke out. Now what where they going to do? "Yes ma'am. I shall report to headquarters immediately and they shall decide what to do."  
  
The screen disappeared and Ariana sat in silence for a minute.  
  
"You warned them?" Raven barked at her as soon as he realized she was done talking with the officer.  
  
"Well, it just seemed like the right thing to do."  
  
"Since when did you start caring about the right thing?" He yelled, angered but perhaps going a little overboard.  
  
"Well it is just the Zoids I want to destroy. The guardian force is just going to be hotter on our trails if we kill a bunch of men just because we wanted to destroy their zoids and the base. I figure we could give a head start. That way if they stay and die it's their own fault." Ariana explained quietly, praying to the gods that Raven wouldn't kill her for what she had done. It just made sense at the time.  
  
Raven remained silent for a few minutes thinking about the girl's logic. To a degree it did make sense. If the people stayed around and died it would be their fault. They would have given them a chance to run with their lives. If they didn't take their chance they would be taking their life into their own hands. "Very well. It might work anyway."  
  
Ariana sighed and continued on her way, following the humongous red zoid. Within moments a batallon of Gunsnipers where before them all where posed and ready to fire, and to break threw a shield if need be.  
  
"Watch out for these guys, kid." Raven warned Ariana. "They can break through your shield like it's nobody's business. Best to just take them out in a close combat battle."  
  
"Roger that." Ariana fingered the controls of her Royal Zaber Tiger for a moment. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. To try this one with Yenti or without? Having made up her mind Ariana opened her eyes and thrust the throttle forward. She was definetely going to need some speed for this attack. What was she thinking? Raven was going to be fighting there right alongside her. But then again the Geno Breaker was more of a long range fighter. A jolt from the fire of one of the gin snipers brought Ariana out of her line of thought. Bad thing category!  
  
"What's wrong with you kid?" Raven shouted.  
  
"Too much thinking, not enough action," she muttered.  
  
"Well stop thinking!" He yelled back at her.  
  
Raven was right. She needed to keep her head out of the sky and fight for the moment. "Mobilizing blades." The long pale blue blades of the Zaber Tiger pushed out away from the body of the zoid and instantly sliced two of the gunsnipers in half.  
  
"There you go, kid. Keep fighting like that."  
  
Ariana grinned and kept on. Nothing like a good encouragement to keep one going. She just needed a little warm up session is all. Five left, four, three, none. Ariana took out three of the gunsnipers at the same time. Slicing down two and blasting the other with her double barrel cannon. Raven smirked. Even though he had taken out most of them she was progressing nicely as a pilot. Ariana hadn't even needed her organoid for that one. He had taught her well.  
  
"Come on. Let's keep going. There's a whole lot more where those guys came from so conserve your energy. We've got to stop the development of the Lightning Saix."  
  
Ariana made no reply but did as she was ordered. They would forever destroy the Lightning Saix. 


	20. Repairs

A/N:Ohh! Writer's block again! FUN!!! -snickers- you better believe it.  
  
Two zoids stood alone amongst the ashes and flames that was once a great base. They themselves a little beat up and easily fixed. Raven and Ariana's mission had been successful. The base was completely destroyed, as had all the zoids that where there and all information on the building and creation of the Lightning Saix.  
  
"Come on kid, let's get out of here before they send out help." Raven said after a long time, breaking the silence between them.  
  
"Roger that." Ariana turned her Zaber Tiger around to follow the Geno Breaker. Yenti departed from the Zaber Tiger and joined Shadow, flying over top of the two zoids. Ariana had gotten nervous during the battle and had gotten Yenti to fuse with her zoid. Raven had not needed Shadow for this round, but allowed the organoid to have at a few rev raptors to keep peace between them. Everyone was very content with their day's work, and yet also uneasy. They always where after a battle. You never know when to be ready. Re enforcements could be sent out at any time. But what was there to worry about? Anyone sent after the two criminals would be destroyed as well.  
  
  
  
"Kid! You really need to get working on those repairs!" Raven shouted out.  
  
Ariana groaned and looked to her Zaber Tiger. It wasn't that beat up, just a few minor damages on the outside surface. Raven worried too much. "I'll get it later."  
  
"Fine, but you can blame yourself when you get killed during a battle."  
  
Again, Ariana groaned but walked off to get her tools mumbling, "I ain't gonna get killed."  
  
Raven grinned as he walked back to the Geno Breaker to do his own repairs; it was about time that girl worked on her zoid. She had been putting it off for nigh two weeks!  
  
  
  
Filled with a certain amount of pride Raven jumped down from the Geno Breaker. Another job well done. With a fresh coat of paint drying the Geno Breaker was looking pretty darn nice.  
  
As he walked past the Zaber Tiger something shiny caught Raven's eye. Stepping back for further inspection he recognized the shiny thing that he had seen as nothing more then the componets from inside the Zaber Tiger showing; from where the metal covering had been ripped off by a falling beam the earlier day. Nothing more, nothing less. Wait...Oh that girl was really gonna get it! And where the heck was she? Obviously she had not done any work on her zoid.  
  
It didn't take Raven long before he found Ariana sleeping in the shade of a tree, Yenti happily resting near her head, which was quite typical. Fine, he was just going to wake her up, but maybe with the help of some freezing water.  
  
Raven sprinted back to camp and got a small bucket which he dipped in a nearby stream. As carefully as he possibly could Raven turned and snuck back to the tree where Ariana was asleep, but when he arrived there Ariana was no where to be found.  
  
"What in the...?" Raven asked himself. There was no way she could have waken up and walked away, he would have heard her for sure.  
  
"Planning on doing something with that water?" Raven heard the voice, followed by a clicking noise and the feeling of cold metal against the side of his head. Quickly he turned his arm back and grabbed the arm from the person who had spoken. Using a few quick manuvers he pulled the person to in front of him. It was none other then Ariana, holding her beloved Silenced PP7 and smiling innocently before him.  
  
"You witch!" Moving his arm up Raven hit pressure point on the girl's arm. She stretch out her hand and dropped the gun.  
  
"So, what exactly where you planning on doing with that water?" Ariana at last questioned.  
  
"And what where you thinking when you decided to not work on your zoid?"  
  
"I was thinking about taking a nap."  
  
"I'm serious here," Raven spoke as he released his hold on Ariana's arm.  
  
"I am being serious!"  
  
Raven sighed. "Fine. But now you have had your nap and now your Zaber Tiger demands your attention. Go do those repairs now!"  
  
Ariana smirked and bowed mockingly, "To hear is to obey."  
  
Raven followed after her and stood back while Ariana worked on her zoid, correcting here when a mistake was made and altogether just making sure she actually did finish up the job this time, and she did.  
  
  
  
A/N: I just figured it might be smart to tell you at what point in time this story takes place. It is after Hiltz decided to be a dumby and try to destroy the world. However, I am playing with the story a bit and this is written as though Reese was never at New Helic City with Raven at the time it was destroyed. Okay? Good. 


	21. I'm Fine!

"So pretty much what you are Saying , Doc, is that if you aren't able to make the blueprintes, etc, there won't ever be another Lightning Saix?" Van questioned.  
  
"Exactly!" Doctor D shouted.  
  
"Well at least you guys didn't loose your best friend and partner!" Irvine spoke quietly as he stood up.  
  
"And you didn't loose your whole life's work!" The doctor cried out.  
  
"Are you trying to tell me that's worse then loosing your partner, Old Man?"  
  
"How about we stop arguing and talk about this like civilized people?" Van suggested. Irvine and Doctor D begrudgingly agreed.  
  
"Now, as we all know, Raven was already unbeatable when he was playing it solo." Van continued. "But now that he has someone to watch his back, he's invincible. Our only hope at defeating the either of them is to catch one alone. This, of course, will prove difficult because Skyfeather has a fondness for using stealth technology."  
  
"We sure found that out the hard way," Thomas muttered. "My poor Dibison!"  
  
Ignoring Thomas, Van again went on. "We have divised a plan that should help us in our task." Pulling down a map he pointed to three arrows. "We are going to split up and go three seperate ways, patrolling all the territory we possibly can. If anyone finds Raven or Skyfeather thet are to do their best to tell whether or not both are present and alert everyone else. Understood?"  
  
Everyone nodded. They were all determined to make this plan work. It had to work. If it didn't what did they have left to do?  
  
  
  
  
  
"You okay Raven?" Ariana asked, worry easily showin through her facial expression.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry so much." Raven stopped for a minute and tried not to cough again, failing miserably  
  
Ariana smiled weakly. "Yeah, sure." Raven had been having a lot of coughing fits as of late. He had been growing steadily weaker and she had noticed that on the occasion he actually coughed blood. It scared her. What if Raven was seriously sick? What if he di-no! No! No! No! No! No! She wasn't even going to think like that because it wasn't going to happen. Pure and simple. The two trudged on together back to their zoids. They had picked up some supplies at a nearby village. The walk had been almost too much for Raven. As soon as they were back a camp he nearly collapsed, pretending he didn't need to rest and was merely starting up a fire. Ariana hummed quietly to lighten the mood. She didn't like gloomy. Not one little bit.  
  
Leaving Raven to attend the fire, Ariana and Yenti climbed into the Zaber Tiger to find the ingredients for today's inedible meal. She believed in using an open fire and not those rinky dink 'portables' everybody used. After a very few minutes Ariana heard what sounded to her like a loud cry. There it was again! Yenti appearently heard it as well. She immediatly started jumped around and making her own crying noises. It was then that Ariana realized the original cry belonged to Shadow. Ariana and Yenti made no waste of time getting down from her zoid and scurring over to where Raven and Shadow had been. What they say nearly knocked the breath out of Ariana.  
  
Raven lay flat on his face beside the fire, his breathing slow and hard. Shadow nudged his master's side gently. What was wrong with them? It made no sense to the organoid. The girl knew exactly what had caused this.  
  
"Oh my gosh..."  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: -winces- Short chappie....I'M SORRY!!!! lol It just doesn't make any sense or have as much emotion if you make it any longer. -shrugs- that's what I think anyway. PLEASE REVIEW!!! 


	22. Under Estimations

A/N: Okay ya'll, I'm like REALLY sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. However, I believe you will the think the wait well worth it. This chapter is easily the longest yet. (hence the reason it took me so long) It's got all sorts of good stuff in it in...ONE CHAPTER!! The chapters may start being longer then in the beginning, because I am trying to wrap this story up. -evil grinz- anyhoo....read and review!!  
  
Raven stirred a bit and attempted to sit up. His head hurt like heck and he was feeling another coughing fit coming on.  
  
"Glad to see you've finally decided to wake up."  
  
Raven turned his head to see Ariana stand up, the two organoids laying down near where she had been.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Well, you've been out of it for what's now going on four hours. I'm only assuming, but it's gotta have something to do with that nasty cough of yours."  
  
"I'm fine!" Raven insisted.  
  
"Then you come up with a better reason, but I got to go right now." Ariana tossed on her sweater and pulled the hood up to keep out the chilly evening air.  
  
"Where are you going?" he growled  
  
"I'm going to get a doctor." Ariana replied in an oddly calm tone.  
  
"I don't need a doctor!"  
  
Sighing softly, Ariana turned around. "Lookit, normally I listen to you. Most of the time, I let you decide what we do. And as a general rule, you are the leader and I'm just the follower, the side kick. But it has been made appearant to me that, in this case, you don't know what is good for yourself. Thus, I am going to go get a doctor and you are going to stay right where you are." She stopped for a moment and looked to there ground, staring at the black organoid. Slowly a plan popped into her head and began to form inside. "And Shadow here is going to make absolutely certain you stay where you are."  
  
Upon hearing his name, Shadow stood up and followed exactly what Ariana had said. He stood beside Raven and watched him intently.  
  
"Kid! This is insanity!" Raven objected as he stood up.  
  
"Ah! What did I just say?" she shouted back  
  
"Come o-"  
  
"Sit!"  
  
"But-"  
  
"Sit!" Ariana again commanded.  
  
Shadow followed the arguement, looking first to Raven then to Ariana and then back again. And long last making up his mind, Shadow nudged Raven's chest with his muzzle and the boy gently fell backwords onto the make shift cot he had been sleeping on.  
  
Shocked and confused, Raven stared blankly at the organoid. "What the? Shadow have you completely lost your mind?"  
  
Ariana snickered at the two. "Good boy, Shadow! I'll be back by night fall; think you can keep him under control?"  
  
The organoid growled his reply.  
  
"Good." The girl whipped around and stood in the ever growing shadows. She emitted a soft whistle and the forever loyal Yenti was at her side. A telepathic link between the two was used as the chest panels of the organoid opened and sealed the girl inside. Instantly, the gold organoid took flight, making all haste towards the nearby town.  
  
  
  
Looking off into the west Ariana glanced at the sun. It was beginning to sink beneath the mountains and the two moons of Zi where rising. Again, she used a telepathic link to speak with the organoid, so that no one would hear her.  
  
"Alright, we have to find a doctor fast. Play like it's the old theiving days. You see me getting in trouble, you save my hide. Got it?"  
  
Yenti bobbed her head quickly and flew off high into the sky, almost hovering above where Ariana walked.  
  
  
  
Within no time at all Ariana found herself in front of a small medical aid building. Taking a deep breath she walked inside and threw off her hood. An older lady sat behind a desk reading a magazine. The girl walked silently towards her and cleared her throat to politely call the woman's attention.  
  
"Oh! Goodness Gracious me! I didn't even see you walk in!" The lady exlaimed.  
  
"It's alright." Ariana replied in an innocent, childlike tone.  
  
"Well, how may I help you?"  
  
"My own dear brother is very ill and I need a doctor to come out and see him as quickly as possible!"  
  
"How tragic! I'll come out to see him immediately!"  
  
"You're the doctor?" Ariana was extrememly confused now.  
  
"Well who did you think I was? The secretary?" the doctor asking in a laughing manner.  
  
Ariana blushed and nodded.  
  
The doctor smiled at the girl and grabbed a bag of supplies. "Well, shall we be off?"  
  
Nodding, the two walked outside and to where the doctor's jeep was, as well as much more medical equipment inside it. The doctor introduced herself as Helena and was surpised to find that, Brei, better known to others as Ariana, had walked the whole way to seek medical attention for her 'brother.'  
  
"These are your zoids, Brei?" Helena asked, more then surprised to find that the Geno Breaker and a customized Saber Tiger was their destination.  
  
"Na, only the Saber Tiger is mine." Ariana replied as if it was something one spoke of over a morning coffee.  
  
"I see..." Helena had begun to believe that she was getting into more then she had bargained for; that this was no ordinary girl and that it wasn't her brother that was ill. There was only one known Geno Breaker in all of Zi, and she knew full well to whom it belonged.  
  
As the neared camp 'Brei' jumped out of the truck, it was only at that time that Yenti showed herself. The organoid landed beside the girl and folded her wings inward. Never having before seen an organoid, Helena jumped back frightfully.  
  
"Wha...what is..." She stammered.  
  
Ariana turned silently and smirked, no longer worried about playing the part of Brei, she had long since given up the innocent little girl act. "Scared of a little organoid?"  
  
Ragaining her composure, Helena grabbed her bags and walked to beside the girl. "No, of course not! It merely surprised me is all."  
  
"Good," Ariana spoke. "Because there's another one with my 'brother.' Right this way, please."  
  
Swallowing hard, Helena followed Ariana to found an again unconcious Raven, Shadow faithfully standing guard.  
  
"My goodness!" Helena exclaimed. "What happened?"  
  
"He fell unconcious again?"  
  
The doctor sighed. "No, I mean what caused this to happen to him?"  
  
"Oh!" Ariana finally realized what the doctor meant. "I have no idea. He was coughing really bad for a good long time and loosing his strength. I finally decided enough was enough, and that's where you came in."  
  
"Hmm, where have you been lately? It looks like you two do a lot of traveling."  
  
Ariana nodded in agreement with her last statement and went on to list everywhere she and Raven had been in recent times.  
  
Listening intently, Dr. Helena figured out what it was. "An extremely fatal virus has been making its way around by Lake Chigoga. The water there was somehow poisoned."  
  
Ariana listened quietly, the discussion of a fatal virus had brought her into a serious mood, especially considering it was something Raven had caught. "Will he be okay?"She asked quietly.  
  
Helena pulled two things out of her bag, but before she could even begin to speak a sort of alarm went off. Ariana immediatly popped up and ran to a scanner, obviously a source of the alarm. "Shoot! There's a large zoid coming this way!" Helena watched quietly while the girl hit a few buttons and studied a picture that showed on it. After a few seconds and extremely large liger showed up on the screen. "That Van!" Ariana shouted angrily. "He has impecibly timing!" Standing she ran off to the Zaber Tiger, Yenti followed closely.  
  
"Brei!" Helena shouted. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I've gotta keep that punk from getting any closer. Do anything you can to save Raven!" Ariana lept into her zoid and sped away as fast as she could. Van was still many kilometers away, but she couldn't have him come in and try a full scale battle with Raven injured. She couldn't loose this battle for anything. She would have to defeat Van, and fast.  
  
"Save Raven" echoed within the mind of Helena multiple times before she turned around to the unconcious man. Ever so slowly, she reached out a hand and carefully brushed away a lock of hair from Raven's face. Her worse fears were confirmed upon seeing the large red mark on his face. Great, so she was helping a bunch of criminals! The most wanted in all of Zi at that! She sighed and sat down. What was she going to do now?  
  
The black organoid growled lightly at the woman. Why was she sitting there doing nothing? The growling brought Helena back to reality. She had forgotten all about the dark organoid. Something inside told her that if she didn't do something for Raven the organoid was certainly going to do something to her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Where's Raven?" Van's voice and face on the screen in front of her interrupted Ariana's mumbling about about impecable timing.  
  
"Not here." She stated firmly.  
  
"Just the sidekick today then?" Vann replied smuggly.  
  
"You got it bucko."  
  
"You do know that by defeating you it will then be made possible for us to defeat Raven."  
  
"I find that fairly unbelievable, but one more thing before we fight."  
  
"Yes?" he said.  
  
"Yenti!!" Ariana cried out. The oganoid knew that order. It was used precious few times, only when Ariana was unsure of her battle skills against an opponent.  
  
"You must think your organoid is pretty strong."  
  
"You don't know the half of it." Trying to catch Van unaware Ariana suddenly darted off away from him. She had to dispose of Van fast. Her tactic was mapped out and she needed some space to make it all work.  
  
"I didn't think you were a coward." Van yelled mockingly.  
  
No reply.  
  
"Fine! If you run I'll simply catch you!"  
  
Ariana looked into one of her screens, Van was running at top speed, and catching up fast. She punched in a few buttons beside her and the ion boosters she had installed were mobolized. She slowly began to pull away from Van.  
  
"Fairly impressive, but I'll still defeat you!" Van shouted out. He knew full well there was a large cliff right ahead and they where just in the ravine created by it.  
  
"Don't get too cocky," Ariana advised.  
  
Van smirked, this was all too easy! Carefully Van locked the fleeing zoid within his sights. "Come on Zeke!" He shouted as he fired. His aim was close, it knicked the side of the agile Zaber Tiger as it jumped away. "Gotcha!"  
  
Ariana ignored Van and continued on her way, the cliff was just ahead. Just a little more speed! She closed her eyes for a second concentrating on her zoid and organoid. "Yenti please! A little more speed, a little more power!" The organoid roared from within the zoid and pushed her abilities to the fullest.  
  
Van followed swiftly behind in pursuit of the girl. "Don't talk much when battling, huh?"  
  
Continuing to ignore him Ariana kept a close eye on the cliff, only a kilometer away, now closer, closer. Van was just about certain she was suicidal. At the very last moment Ariana lurched the Zaber Tiger forward and jumped onto the cliff, repelling off of it she made a swift turn in the air. The Zaber Tiger and Blade Liger where now looking at a head on collision. Van attempted to get out of the way, but he wasn't fast enough. Upon landing it became appearant to him that something was treacherously wrong with the Liger. A quick look at the Zaber Tiger told him exactly what it was, for held tight within it's mouth was the bottom half of the Liger's right foreleg!  
  
The liger collapsed and Van braced himself for the end. Skyfeather had never let anyone go without destroying their zoid beyond repair.  
  
"And you know what your greatest fault is, Van?" Ariana spoke in a calm manner.  
  
Van made no sound.  
  
"You talk to much in battle. In doing so you greatly under estimate your adversary." Her tone was hard and cold, but there was truth in her words. Pushing a few levers she released the Liger's leg. Pushing a few buttons the Zaber Tiger became invisible. The stealth mode had been turned on so that Liger's sensors would not be able to track her, or find their camp and Raven.  
  
"Adieu." Ariana turned and sped off as quickly as possible.  
  
"Skyfeather!" Van shouted out in anguish. How could he have let her defeat him? Why didn't he see that attack coming? And how come even Zeke couldn't find enough power to stay on her tail? These questions and many others swirled about in his head. The defeat had come hard and it wasn't one he would easily forget.  
  
While Van pondered his defeat Ariana ran back to the camp and Raven as fast as she could. The Zaber Tiger had taken very little damage in the battle, just a little bit of metal scratched off the side from where Van had shot at her. But that little spot of damage was exactly where it had been damaged before, the place where Raven had all but forced her to repair. If Raven had not made her repair that spot earlier the results of the battle could have been very different. Very different indeed.  
  
  
  
A/N:Yay! That comes to a total of seven pages! Over twice the amount of a normal chapter! Phew, glad I'm finally done with this chapter! lol Oh, and Red Baroness, you might want to go tape what's left of Van back together seeing as how it wasn't him that was the cause of Raven's sickness... 


	23. Notice

Due to various problems and troubles in life (ie my horse breaking its leg needing surgery, now he's home and needs to be fed 8 times a day, etc) and many errors with this story it is going to be put on hold for a while. When I get the time I am going to correct all the errors and finish up the story, once that is done I will probably delete this whole thing and just make it like it was a new story.then you all can review again! Lol Sorry about all this mess. Story will be coming back in full.just in time. 


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